


Target

by MadamRed



Series: Writing Prompts (Tumblr) [7]
Category: Criminal Minds, Criminal Minds RPF
Genre: F/M, Love, RPF, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-12
Updated: 2016-07-12
Packaged: 2018-07-23 12:42:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7463718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MadamRed/pseuds/MadamRed
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Writing prompt requested on Tumblr: “You’re my favourite muse.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Target

You were relaxing in your trailer, waiting to be called to do the first of the five scenes you had been hired for. This was going to be your big break, you could feel it. After trying to get a decent acting job for a few years, you finally landed one on freaking CBS. It was for their show _Criminal Minds._ You had watched it a couple of times, but work always got in the middle and you were never able to _really_ get into it. Now, you’d be acting in it, which was absolutely surreal to you.

There had been some auditions for a role as another FBI agent that was not part of the regular team itself, and your agent got you a place at the last minute. Somehow, you had managed to convince them that you were the right choice for the role. You knew that those minor characters weren’t _all_ that important, but, maybe, if you did a good job and the public liked your character, you could become a guest star in the future.

This particular episode you were participating in was actually being directed by one of the cast members: Matthew Gray Gubler. It was going to be the mid-season finale, and you were told the producers wanted it to be as creepy and disturbing as possible. The episode was centred on your character, Ashley Lewin, as well as some other FBI agents, being taunted and targeted by the bad guy. It was a twisted storyline and definitely a little bit gorier than what they usually do, but they were hoping it was exciting enough for the audience.

After reading the lines for your first scene for the umpteenth time, you were finally called to go to the set. The first scene you were in involved you welcoming the team after they land, and you had to appear overwhelmed by the situation, prompting AJ Cook’s character to follow you and talk to you in the bathroom before you have a bit of a breakdown. This meant you had to tear up and ruin a little of your make-up each time, which also meant retouching. It was basically going to be a long first scene. At least, you managed to get it done in only three takes and then you only had to do the close-ups.

You spent the rest of the day in the FBI office set, chatting with the cast members and getting very useful advice, especially from Matthew. He spent quite a lot of time with you, since his character grows somewhat attached to yours in the span of time the team spends in that particular town. If it was possible he was even more quirky than Dr Spencer Reid, but without the awkwardness that he managed to convey so well when in character. It was weird seeing him behind the camera while still dressed in Reid’s clothes in between takes.

You were lost in your own thoughts as you stared after him interacting with the crew when a large hand coming down on your shoulder brought you back. Thomas Gibson had been calling you to talk about the next scene but he had obtained no response from you. Before you could say anything to him, he winked at you since he had noticed who you were distracted by. You blushed but made no attempt to try and explain yourself. You and your big mouth would only make matters more awkward. And you needed these people to like you to even begin discussing the possibility of getting a second chance at this role.

When the filming day was finally wrapped up, and you were walking towards your trailer to change, you heard your name being called. You turned around to find Matthew walking briskly in your direction.

‘Hey, there (Y/n)!’ he greeted you with a big goofy smile of his.

‘Hi, Matthew! How are ya?’ you responded with a smile of your own.

‘Absolutely exhausted. Ready to go home and collapse. You?’

‘Same here, but first I gotta wipe the countless layers of make-up,’ you made a face, and he laughed.

‘Yes, I’ve heard the other female cast members complain about the same thing a few times,’ you walked in companionable silence for a while. ‘By the way, sorry that we couldn’t finish all of your scenes today. It was hectic with some of the script having to be rewritten.’

‘Ah, now I understand why you looked so worried earlier. Don’t worry about it. Now I can say I had a two-day gig at CBS instead of a one-day thing!’

‘More to brag about, huh?’

‘Yeap,’ you exaggerated the “p” at the end.

‘So, my trailer is actually on the opposite side, but I needed to ask you something,’ you had reached the door to yours and you hadn’t even realised it until he stopped walking. ‘Could I take a picture of you while still in character? It’ll help me finish the preparations for tomorrow. I envisioned one of the scenes in a very specific way,’ he smirked, and you began wondering what it could be that he'd imagined.

‘Sure, I don’t see why not,’ he gave you a few directions on how to pose as if they were more candid photos and snapped a bunch.

‘Thank you! Remember that tomorrow we’re starting before first light!’

‘You’re welcome! But please don’t remind me!’ he laughed at your expression one last time and began the walk back to the other side of the spacious parking lot.

 

* * *

The next day was pretty much the same in terms of events: you arrived, went to hair and make-up, waited to be called, shot the different scenes a few times and conversed with the cast and crew in between takes. When everyone was called to shoot the final scene of the day, which involved your character getting kidnapped right under the BAU members’ watchful eyes, you finally saw the place where Ashley was to wake up and be rescued from.

It was a warehouse-like building, with some slabs in the middle where you’d be tied along with another actress who was also playing an FBI agent. There were pictures of the different targets, including you, but what really caught your attention were the drawings someone had done of you dressed and acting as Ashley. As much as you wanted to look around, you had a long scene to shoot and needed to focus on the directions Matthew was giving out.

Once you were tied up and ready to go, you felt trapped, which, as unpleasant as it was, it actually helped your performance a lot. After the fifth attempt, the slight claustrophobic feeling wore off, and Matthew, happy with the shots and close-ups, called it a day. You released a sigh of relief at having finished such a stressful scene, and the cast said their goodbyes to you as the crew moved around you all to start cleaning up.

You took advantage of this and moved to take a closer look at the drawings. The detailing was _incredible!_ You wanted to ask if you could grab one so as to inspect it more and maybe even take it home. You were debating whether it was appropriate to do so when a voice startled you.

‘You can have one, if you want,’ Matthew said from behind you. You turned around and noticed the way he was trying to suppress a smirk to form on his handsome features. When he realised that you were not going to say much, he approached you and continued speaking. ‘It was hard getting all of these done in between takes yesterday and earlier today, but I’m really happy with how they turned out, especially this one.’

He took the one that had been hanging the highest, one that you hadn’t even noticed until he pointed it out. He looked over it with a certain fondness in his eyes and handed it to you. You remained silent and studied the black and white sketch as Matthew stared at you, waiting for some kind of reaction.

‘So, I’m guessing this is the reason why you took so many pictures of me yesterday, huh?’ you smiled softly as you looked up from the paper still in your hands.

‘You’re correct. I asked all of the actors playing the targeted FBI agents to pose,’ your smile faltered a little. You had felt a tiny bit special for a second, but you guessed he only asked you because it was really just part of the atmosphere he wanted to create for the scene. ‘Although, and I don’t know if I should be saying this but... for some reason, I kept drawing more and more sketches of you instead of the others.’

‘What do you mean?’ you asked him, slightly confused but intrigued.

‘There were supposed to be only a few extra ones of you since Ashley was the trigger for the whole thing to unravel but, since I struggled to draw any more of the others and I wasn’t particularly happy with how they were turning out, I just allowed myself to keep focusing on you and Ashley, I guess,’ he said, scratching the back of his neck a little.

‘Oh, is that why there are some drawings which are all scratched?’ you pointed at some in another wall.

‘Exactly. That was my real frustration. The writers liked the fact that I had done that and just amplified the UnSub’s obsession with Ashley during those last few scenes to justify the fact that there were so many of you,’ he shrugged.

You were still inspecting the drawing, feeling warm just from looking at it, but then, when you saw him opening his mouth and shutting it again out of the corner of your eye, you turned and addressed him.

‘You wanted to say something else, right?’

‘Yeah, it’s just... I barely know you, and this could come out as super creepy, but I gotta say, you’re my favourite muse,’ you even saw a dust of pink adorning his cheeks as he admitted it.

Your heart skipped a beat at his words. You were speechless, which prompted him to reach the wrong conclusion.

‘I’m _so_ sorry, (Y/n)! I probably freaked you out. Let’s just forget I said it and let’s go back to the part when I was not making a fool of myself,’ he even tried to cover his face with his large hands.

‘No! You don’t need to backtrack! It’s just that I’ve never had anyone say something like that to me, that’s all! I’m... flattered that you’d think that way of me,’ you both smiled like silly teenagers at each other, and you looked down once more at the sketch.

‘So, I should get going. There are still some things I need to go over for tomorrow,’ he said, regret written all over his face at having to cut the conversation short.

‘Of course! The difficult duties of being the director and all. I guess, this is goodbye then, right?’

‘It is, yes... _unless_ you give me your number and we, you know, happen to chat every once in a while.’

‘I’d very much like that.’


End file.
